


Running In The Shadows

by SevielCiel



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Anxiety Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, discontinued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-01-03 04:48:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21173678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevielCiel/pseuds/SevielCiel
Summary: The ups and downs of The Beatles as a band, and as close friends; featuring:Paul with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)John with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)George with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Ringo with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).[bittermacca & sevielciel]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written by bittermacca and SevielCiel, respectively.  
Contact us on Tumblr -> @bittermaccamacca, @sevielciel.  
Not an insult to the actual people, who belong to neither of us.

Brian Epstein entered the backstage area of the venue his boys were going to play in that night.

He was nervous. Very nervous. The stress was making his head spin, but through that, he was extremely hopeful; he had to be, yet he was also confident.

That was the Beatles first big concert in a venue filled to the brim with people, the most people that had ever come to one of their shows. 

"Boys, are you ready?" He asked, opening the door quietly and slowly to not startle anyone, a soft smile coming onto his face when it made a funny creaking noise. Four heads turned around to look at him and the older man smiled, before clearing his throat.

"Hi, Brian!" Said Paul happily, getting closer, already dressed in his iconic Beatle suit. They were picked out by Brian (he always chose the clothes they wore on stage, otherwise they'd be complete messes). 

"Hiya, Paul," Said Brian, smiling in return and walking to the centre of the small group.

Ringo and George were sitting cross-legged on the floor; both smiled up at the older man, before George's eyes darkened and the boy started muttering under his breath.

"B, A, B than C... B, A, B than C..." He repeated, voice shaking gently.

"How are you doing, Rings?" Asked Brian, looking at down at Ringo, the oldest. 

He merely shrugged and carried on twirling a drumstick between his fingers, before tightening his grip and starting to twirl it again. It was his way of calming down before a gig, so that his anxiety wasn't going to be really bad. Mostly, it worked a treat and kept him calm enough, but today all of the boys seemed more stressed than usual. This made sense to Brian, there were at least double the amount of people they were used to at their shows just outside.

Brian had learned to ignore all of the boys' weird habits. He didn't question them, nor ridicule them.

His gaze shifted up to the boy sitting on the sofa, behind George and Ringo, bouncing his knee restlessly.

"Hey, John, where is your shirt?" He asked half amused, though mostly confused.

John looked at him with his brown almond eyes, wide and darting from place to place, "It itches," He whined, sounding like a petulant child.

Brian sighed deeply. Not an angry sigh, mind. "C'mon, Johnny. Put your shirt on," He grabbed the discarded clothing and slid it up to John's shoulders, trying to coax him into putting it on fully. 

John whined once more and shrugged it off again, crossing his arms against his torso with a big pout that was second only to Paul's pout. He knew he needed to wear it, he couldn't get on stage without a shirt (that'd be an interesting story for the press), but in that moment he couldn't really care. At all. 

At that point, the dark haired boy had joined them, sitting next to his boyfriend. Paul kissed John's cheek softly. 

"C'mon, love," He said gently, "Put your shirt on! It's okay."

John looked at him with pleading eyes, "But Paulie! It itches!"

"The whole shirt itches?" Asked the manager with raised eyebrows, showing that he was slightly confused, wanting to know what,  _ exactly _ , was bothering John. 

"No: just the tag," His voice came out whiny and higher pitched than usual, which made Paul giggle beside him softly. 

Brian grabbed a pair of scissors, snipping the label off. "Now, is it better?" he asked, holding up the shirt again.

John put it on reluctantly and nodded, a large grin adorning his face as he looked at Paul. 

The younger one smiled in return, leaning down to press a kiss on his lips.

Brian knew that John wasn't doing it on purpose to be an annoying brat, he knew none of the boys were; he'd accepted them for who they were, and he always would. 

For the auburn haired boy, some kinds of clothes could bother him. His senses were more heightened than other people's own and his attention span was considerably short. He could also not stay still for long periods of time, always bouncing his leg, tapping his fingers, rubbing his jeans with his hands and looking around, everything catching his sight. He took an interest in everything he saw, and then another took that same interest, and so on. 

Mimi, John's aunt, had confided, or rather advised Brian, that as a child John would hardly keep his clothes on and that at school he never concentrated, always wandering off with his mind and never paying attention.

The boys made their concert, nothing unusual happening, until the very end. They did very well in Brian's opinion, and judging by the screams and shouts from the crowd, they enjoyed it too. He was absolutely thrilled.

Brian went backstage to greet them, only to be met by Paul rushing in and with, what he thought to be, tears brimming his big hazel eyes, just about to fall. 

"Boys, what happened to Paul?" He asked as other three bandmates rushed in after him. 

"Paulie," Said John softly, patiently, getting closer.

"I'm quitting the band!" shouted the younger one.

"What?" The manager asked, shocked. 

"I'm quitting the band... I'm sorry, I didn't enter on cue in the last song and now the whole concert in ruined!" Shouted the younger man, eyes full of tears.

"Paul, what are you saying? Just because you were slightly late doesn't mean the whole concert or even that song is ruined!" John exclaimed, kneeling next to the now sobbing bassist.

Paul wiped his eyes, climbing on John's lap and snuggling close, resembling a kitten, which the rest of them found adorable. 

John kept cradling him, Brian smiling on at the scene. 

Even with his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, John could be concentrated enough to care and comfort his boyfriend, who suffered a illnesses called Borderline Personality Disorder, that made him quite insecure and emotionally sensitive. His mood swings were hard to deal with, but deal they did. 

If he made a mistake in something, merely peculiar and small, he believed that everyone hated him and that he wasn't good enough for them.

Of course this wasn't true. They always reassured him, however, and he would eventually calm down. 

Everything was okay. 


	2. Chapter 2

It was a nice morning and the Beatles, along with Brian, had gone to a large department shop to do some shopping; something that they didn’t tend to do a lot, especially since it was a… for lack of better term, scary situation.

They had decided to split into two groups, John and Paul together, and George and Ringo in the other, though they usually didn’t mind.

Brian had merely decided to tag along with John and Paul, knowing that the two usually got into more trouble or acted rather recklessly, in his opinion, while the other two were more laid back and calm in situations. Well, as much as they could get. 

After having told Ringo and George to be careful, the older man had run behind the other two, John already running after something that had caught his eye.

The drummer and guitarist started walking around holding hands and quietly talking about nothing important, just enjoying each other’s company and loving that they could walk around holding hands without having to hide their love for one another (for once).

A few people stared at them, mostly for what George was doing; he was walking only on the black tiles, avoiding at all costs the white ones. Ringo was looking at him with a big smile, happy to see his boyfriend so carefree in public, not giving a fuck what people actually thought about him or what he was doing.  _ That _ was carefree. 

His own anxiety, though, was growing more and more as they walked into yet another shop. His hands were trembling and his gaze was darting around the shop to all the different people, frantically trying to see if any of them were looking at him,  _ judging _ him. 

"Rings, are you alright?" Asked the dark eyed lad, looking at Ringo with a concerned expression on his slightly red face.

The older nodded enthusiastically and gave a smile, it soon twitching into a soft, unnoticeable frown.

They started walking around a shop, seeing all the pretty coloured shirts that were hanging around, some silk waistcoats that George silently marvelled at and a few Victorian style suits; they were truly gorgeous and the thought of one of them in it made both of them blush. All slick and dressed up. 

"John would love this place," The older giggled loudly and flinched a little when George raised an eyebrow at him, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I would say that Paul would enjoy these clothes, not John."

"I meant for the colours, he always seems so attracted to colours," Ringo whispered as an answer, squeezing George’s hand tightly.

They tried on a few shirts and kissed each other quietly into the changing rooms, before heading for the exit, the older feeling apprehensive yet strangely confident, something that mildly confused and alarmed him simultaneously. George was already ready to grab his wallet and lay the clothes on the counter, before Ringo grabbed his arm with wide eyes and a gentle smile that warmed the younger’s heart.

"No," He stated simply, "I'll do it."

George's eyes widened, "Are you sure, love? It's not a problem, y'know. I can-”

Ringo nodded, "My anxiety will never get better if I keep avoiding social situations. I don't want to be forever dependent on others," He spoke sincerely with a slight tremor in his voice, conviction showing in his big blue eyes.

George nodded, leaning down to kiss his cheek as they waited for their turn to pay. Suddenly, the blue eyed lad was starting to sweat in nervousness, fists clenching and unclenching beside him, shaky breaths escaping his lips.

George gently placed his hands on his shoulder to comfort the older, noticing his obvious discomfort.

"Can I help you, sir?" The cashier asked and gave him a warm smile.

"Uh, I- y-yeah. How much is all this?" He asked in a low, shy voice, putting on the counter the few items he was holding in his hands, avoiding all eye contact with the girl.

As the cashier was typing into the cash register, Ringo turned around nervously, looking into George's eyes, a shimmer of pride protruding through the nervous gaze. The younger grinned, giving him a thumbs up and Ringo was instantly feeling better and more secure of himself, George had that ability on him, to make him feel less anxious and self conscious.

They paid, Ringo's hands shaking just a bit as he handed the money to the girl, and before he could register everything, he was out of the shop, George holding his hand.

"You did great, love!" He praised, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend's lips, “I’m  _ so  _ proud.”

Ringo blushed, "Th-thank you.”

"I'm really am proud of you, y'know?" He said gently, pecking his lips again.

Ringo nodded, kissing George a last time before they started walking away, bags on their arms as they walked towards where Brian and the others were

-

Brian was sat on a bench, with John and Paul beside him, smiling at each other and holding hands, whispering soft compliments to one another and giggling. Soon John became interested in something from the array of items they’d bought, starting to turn it over in his hands, running his fingers over it delicately. He didn’t acknowledge them as he was too focused and intrigued about the item, but Paul did, and smiled at them.

"Hey, Richie, Geo," Said Brian with a matching smile to Paul’s. Only then did John look up and grin at them, and then a man making big bubbles caught his interest, making him completely forget whatever was going around him.

It was so easy to lose his focus.

Brian rolled his eyes fondly at the rhythm guitarist and looked back at the other couple.

"What did you buy?" He asked with interest, eyeing the bags in the guitarist hand.

George grinned, "We bought a few hoodies and shirts," He said, humouring the others with a dramatic pause, "Ringo talked to the cashier." The other three, even John looked at them wide eyed, not sure how it went and wanting, desperately, to know.

Ringo grinned, looking down and blushing as George proudly ruffled his hair, fondly kissing the top of his head.

“It went great.”

"That’s amazing, Richie! Really! I'm so happy for you," Smiled Brian, getting up to hug him.

Ringo beamed and returned the hug, basking as much warmth he could from their manager.

Suddenly, two arms became four, then six and then eight, Ringo finding himself wrapped into his mates' arms warmly.


End file.
